Global Ovarian Cancer Research Consortium launches US$1M+ AI grant with Microsoft 

Four leading ovarian cancer research charities from four countries are funding a new AI Accelerator Grant in partnership with Microsoft’s AI For Good Lab to supercharge the next ovarian cancer research breakthrough.

8 May, 2025 - Today marks World Ovarian Cancer Day and the launch of the Global Ovarian Cancer Research Consortium — a first-of-its-kind alliance uniting four leading ovarian cancer research organizations across the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. 

Together, the Consortium is announcing its inaugural initiative: a game-changing $US1 million grant, with an additional $US1 million in computing support from Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab, to address the global challenge in ovarian cancer survival rates. Globally, 324,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer and 207,000 women die from the disease each year. In Australia, it remains the most lethal gynaecological cancer. The Consortium’s groundbreaking AI Accelerator Grant is a bold new effort to ignite a wave of innovation in AI-powered ovarian cancer research, bringing hope and potentially life-saving breakthroughs to women everywhere.

Urgent catch-up

Progress in ovarian cancer research is lagging dangerously behind other diseases. It’s predicted that by 2050, the number of women around the world diagnosed with ovarian cancer will rise by more than 55% to 503,448, and the number of women dying from ovarian cancer is projected to increase to 350,956 each year. 

AI is already revolutionising cancer diagnoses—from breast to brain, skin to thyroid—with stunning advances. But ovarian cancer has yet to feel the full benefit of this transformative technology. That changes now.

With this urgent call to action, the Consortium is summoning the world’s brightest minds to harness AI and tip the scales toward survival.

Researchers will be asked to form teams, including a representative from each of the four countries, to compete for the new grant.

Karyn Stamp is a 57-year-old woman from Woodend, Victoria, who was diagnosed with stage 3c high-grade serous ovarian cancer in May 2024. Her story is all too common for women with this diagnosis: “Following major surgery and six rounds of chemotherapy in 2024, I was devastated to discover that there was no further treatment available to reduce the risk of my cancer returning.  I am now experiencing early recurrence, only a few months after completing chemotherapy,” she said.

Juan Lavista Ferres, Microsoft Chief Data Scientist and Director of the Microsoft AI for Good Lab, said the grant holds great potential to accelerate progress: "Discoveries are needed to find lifesaving treatments for ovarian cancer, a cancer that tragically still has a low survival rate. Equipping leading researchers around the globe with powerful AI tools and computing resources will help accelerate their critical work, hopefully leading to breakthroughs that save women's lives. Microsoft's AI for Good Lab is proud to support ovarian cancer research through this grant.” 

The successful grant will support any area of research that will improve survival rates. It must have a multi-jurisdictional team from across the grant-funded countries and a multi-disciplinary team, including an AI expert.